Milwaukee Bucks vs Toronto Raptors – NBA

Milwaukee Bucks vs Toronto Raptors / NBA – Thanks to 10-0 series in last minutes of Game 1 the Bucks won Toronto and take a lead in the semi-final series. Game 1 showed that this is going to be an interesting clash that could easily go all the way to Game 7. This game will be played in Milwaukee, after which the two teams move to Canada.

Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee didn’t start well the first match and it could be seen that they relaxed too much after the semi-final series. Before they pulled themselves together Toronto already had +11 after the first quarter and played quite good. The Bucks won 108-100 thanks only to the last quarter, which they won by 32-17, but above all to the final series 10-0 (they were trailing behind 98-100 before). They were able to stop Toronto to shot from the field in those moments, or more precisely to prevent the opponents to score from last eight attempts.

Lopez played the best game in his career in play-offs and he finished Game 1 with 29 points (13 in the last quarter), 11 rebounds and 4 blocks, while Antetokounmpo added his 24 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks. As we have said before, recovered Brogdon provided significant help who scored 15 points. The Bucks were better in rebounds (60 rebounds out of which 15 offensive ones), but they shooting for three points was at only 25% (11/44).

Toronto Raptors

Old Toronto’s flaw came to surface again. Namely, the Canadian team does not “like” first games in series and they lost even 15 of the 18 such games. Also, defeat by the Bucks had put an end to their tradition of winning every game in this season’s play-off in which they had a lead at halftime (before facing the Bucks they won eight such games). Toronto fans have finally saw what happens when Lowry has his day (30 points, 7 triceps), while Leonard scored 31 points and had 9 rebounds.

Siakam missed 14 attempts from the field, while Gasol scored 6 points with shooting 2/11. The Raptors’s reserves seemed to rely on the starters and they “assist” them with only 12 points, which was definitely not enough. The Raptors had shooting from the field at mere 37% but all this could be somehow forgotten if they only played a bit better in last few minutes. They shot in the last quarter 5/22 and that was crucial for the end result.

Milwaukee Bucks vs Toronto Raptors Picks

Bucks were trailing behind in 77 out of 48 minutes of Game 1 but in the end they won. It is fact that both teams shot below average (Bucks 39.8% and Toronto 37%), although they scored together 208 points. It might mean that Game 2 could be far more efficient as both teams know and can shoot much better.